Health and wellbeing · ranked by People without safe drinking water
Countries with the most people without safe drinking water
| # | Name | People without safe drinking water | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 341.8k thousand people | — | |
| 2 | 197.1k thousand people | — | |
| 3 | 163.1k thousand people | — | |
| 4 | 138.3k thousand people | — | |
| 5 | 114.2k thousand people | — | |
| 6 | 96.3k thousand people | — | |
| 7 | 74.6k thousand people | — | |
| 8 | 70.9k thousand people | — | |
| 9 | 59.7k thousand people | — | |
| 10 | 47.1k thousand people | — |
Show positions 11–50
| 11 | 41.8k thousand people | — | |
| 12 | 41.0k thousand people | — | |
| 13 | 34.4k thousand people | — | |
| 14 | 29.6k thousand people | — | |
| 15 | 25.1k thousand people | — | |
| 16 | 24.9k thousand people | — | |
| 17 | 24.8k thousand people | — | |
| 18 | 24.5k thousand people | — | |
| 19 | 24.1k thousand people | — | |
| 20 | 22.0k thousand people | — | |
| 21 | 20.5k thousand people | — | |
| 22 | 20.3k thousand people | — | |
| 23 | 19.6k thousand people | — | |
| 24 | 19.0k thousand people | — | |
| 25 | 18.5k thousand people | — | |
| 26 | 17.7k thousand people | — | |
| 27 | 17.3k thousand people | — | |
| 28 | 14.5k thousand people | — | |
| 29 | 13.6k thousand people | — | |
| 30 | 13.5k thousand people | — | |
| 31 | 12.4k thousand people | — | |
| 32 | 12.3k thousand people | — | |
| 33 | 12.3k thousand people | — | |
| 34 | 11.9k thousand people | — | |
| 35 | 9,426.41 thousand people | — | |
| 36 | 8,820.47 thousand people | — | |
| 37 | 8,401.85 thousand people | — | |
| 38 | 7,700.44 thousand people | — | |
| 39 | 7,623.16 thousand people | — | |
| 40 | 7,562.4 thousand people | — | |
| 41 | 6,570.77 thousand people | — | |
| 42 | 6,247.17 thousand people | — | |
| 43 | 5,461.14 thousand people | — | |
| 44 | 5,116.61 thousand people | — | |
| 45 | 5,035.8 thousand people | — | |
| 46 | 4,999.26 thousand people | — | |
| 47 | 4,593.06 thousand people | — | |
| 48 | 4,364.35 thousand people | — | |
| 49 | 4,360.81 thousand people | — | |
| 50 | 4,299.68 thousand people | — |
History
How the top 10 has moved
Positions of today's top 10 across every published snapshot.
Chart data as a table
| Name | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
|---|---|---|
| India | 1 | 1 |
| Indonesia | 2 | 2 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 3 |
| Pakistan | 4 | 4 |
| Ethiopia | 5 | 5 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 6 | 6 |
| Mexico | 7 | 7 |
| Bangladesh | 8 | 8 |
| Philippines | 9 | 9 |
| Tanzania | 10 | 10 |
About this ranking
Countries with the most people without safe drinking water, explained
Countries with the most people without safe drinking water is a live ranking of the top 50 entries in health and wellbeing by People without safe drinking water, built from public data published by Our World in Data. It was last refreshed on 2026-11-02. 2 snapshots have been published so far, and every one of them is kept, so the rank history chart on this page shows exactly how each position has moved over time.
India currently holds #1 with 341.8k thousand people. Indonesia is second with 197.1k thousand people, which puts the leader 73% ahead. Nigeria completes the top three with 163.1k thousand people. Together the top three account for about 54% of the combined top-10 total, which gives a quick sense of how concentrated this ranking is.
What changed in the latest update: India has held #1 for 2 consecutive updates. Movements are computed by comparing the newest published snapshot with the one before it, so a change here always reflects two real data points rather than an estimate.
How it is measured: Number of people without access to safely managed drinking water. Our World in Data chart "number-without-safe-drinking-water" (column wat_sm_pop_without__residence_total); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded. Caveat: Years differ by country; the chart page documents the original source and its limitations. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The full top 50 is on this page, with positions 11 to 50 one click away, and each entry links to its own profile showing every ranking it appears in.
Use this page to check who is number one right now, compare any two entries head to head, or test yourself with the quiz, which asks you to name all ten in three minutes. Year-end archives are available for 2026, freezing the ranking as it stood at the close of each year. Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value: each number is fetched from its source, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails the gate, the previous snapshot stays live and the problem is reviewed by a person.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is #1 in Countries with the most people without safe drinking water?
- India is #1 with 341.8k thousand people, as of 2026-11-02. Indonesia is #2.
- How is Countries with the most people without safe drinking water ranked?
- By People without safe drinking water. Number of people without access to safely managed drinking water. Our World in Data chart "number-without-safe-drinking-water" (column wat_sm_pop_without__residence_total); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded.
- How often is this ranking updated?
- It refreshes on a fixed schedule from Our World in Data. The latest snapshot was captured on 2026-11-02 and 2 snapshots have been published in total.
- Where does the data come from?
- Our World in Data. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The raw payload for every refresh is stored unchanged so any number can be traced back.